5 days ago
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It came down to the last second (literally) for Nevada to pick up its 11th win and third win in the Mountain West. It was a quiet start to the first half for Nevada, one that head coach Steve Alford called “too passive,” but a second-half turnaround was all the Pack needed.
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Scoring Summary
1st Half
Nevada 21 – Fresno State 26
2nd Half
Nevada 45 – Fresno State 39
Final: Nevada 66, Fresno State 65
Offense
Former Bulldog Elijah Price made his return to the Valley and opened the scoring up for Nevada with two layups, alongside a score in the paint by Chuck Bailey. It was also the return of Corey Camper Jr., who’s been out the past few games with a back injury. He didn’t make it into the starting five, but his presence was quickly welcomed back off the bench with an early three to give Nevada a 9-8 lead at the 13-minute mark.
Price led the scoring through the first half with just six points as Nevada shot 31 percent from the field. As one of the best teams in the conference in free-throw shooting, Nevada didn’t make it to the line once in the first half. Nevada also turned the ball over seven times in the first 20 minutes and 10 times total.
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The second half’s offense was much more energized after another strong performance from Tyler Rolison off the bench. He scored 14 points in the second half and finished the night with 16 on 6-11 shooting. It was a constant back and forth in the final two minutes that included plenty of free throws for Nevada, which went 12-18 in the last half of the game.
Nevada was down 65-64 with 25 seconds left as Rolison inbounded the ball. He held it and took it himself, driving into the paint and making a layup with 10 seconds left to give the Wolf Pack a one-point lead that turned into the win.
Nevada finished the night shooting 43 percent from the field but just 29 percent from three. Price dropped 15 points and nine rebounds in his return game and Vaughn Weems picked up 13.
Defense
Fresno State guard Jake Heidbreder created early damage himself, scoring 11 of the Bulldogs’ 12 points to start the game. Fresno State didn’t pull off much damage outside of that in the first half, except for going 4-10 from beyond the arc.
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Nevada did well at forcing turnovers with nine against Fresno State in the first half. The Bulldogs were held to 33 percent shooting from the field and only made six trips to the free-throw line. The Bulldogs shot well in the second half, going 56 percent from the field, and traded the lead in the final minutes. The killer for Fresno State was fouls, collecting 12 in the second half after only four in the first half.
After Rolison made the layup to give Nevada a one-point lead, Fresno State had 10 seconds to try to win the game. A shot went up inside and missed, appearing to end the game with a Nevada win. However, there was a whistle as Vance Walberg called a timeout just in time.
After review, 0.1 seconds were put back on the clock, only time for a lob pass over the net, which didn’t fall through, officially ending the game.
Heidbreder ended the game with 25 points and four rebounds, making five three-pointers on the night. Fresno State turned the ball over 15 times but won the rebound battle 36-29.
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What’s Next
Nevada will go back home to host San Diego State on Tuesday, Jan. 6. The Aztecs are right behind Nevada in the conference standings, so be prepared for some fireworks at Lawlor on Tuesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. PST.
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